Chapter 4 – Power and Countervailing Power

Mr Wilson History 404

Part II

At the end of the 18th century, the loyalists and the British immigrants wanted a Legislative Assembly.

Why? For representation and because it was the system they were used to.

Gradually the French Petite Bourgeoisie also thought it was a good idea, and wanted one too.

This institution would help the population make “requests” to the Governor.

The governor resisted but these new “Reformers” were finally able to convince the British Parliament in London.

Thus, the Governor would have to share some of his power with the representatives.

Although there was now some democratic representation, the Governor still had most of the power.

Governor General

Executive Council Legislative Council

Legislative Assembly(Representatives from various political parties)

Property Owners, mostly men!

APPOINTED! APPOINTED!

ELECTED!

After 1791, politicians with similar ideas tended to get together and form what they called “parties.”

In Lower Canada, the Assembly was dominated by two major groups:

The Tory Party = conservative, anglophone merchants. The Parti Canadien = Reformist, French Canadians,

unsatisfied with the Assembly’s lack of real power.

The Parti Canadien affirmed their nationalism later on by becoming the Parti Patriote.

At the beginning of the 1800’s, the colony was in a state of tension!

Political confrontations were frequent. Compromise between the Tories and

the Patriotes was difficult to reach. In 1834, the Patriotes drafted 92 Resolutions in which they demanded more autonomy for Canada and a more democratic system.

A more radical Patriote, Louis-Joseph Papineau, won over most of the moderate reformers – Creating a very forceful group of French Canadians who were not happy.

Here is what most of the 92 Resolutions said:

The election of members to the Legislative Council Control of the budget by the Legislative Council Choosing the members of the Executive Council from

the elected representatives, with support of the majority from the Legislative Assembly.

Governor Aylmer (1830-1835) refused to consider the demands.

This of course pleased the Tories and enraged the Patirotes.

The Next Governor, Gosford (1835-1838), tried to calm both sides.

He did this by offering the French seats on both Councils, this made the English angry, when no one could agree – he dissolved the assembly.

In 1834, the Société St-Jean Baptiste de Montreal was formed as an association to defend the social and political ideas of the time.

At the same time, the Scottish and the Irish formed similar societies.

Because the situation was so tense, many of these groups suggested violent action.

The Patriotes spread their ideas to the population through a series of public speeches in the spring of 1837.

They asked that people boycott products from Great Britain.

Members of the group L’Association des Filles de la Liberté went even further and asked people to bear arms!

In November of 1837, two groups confronted each other on the streets of Montreal.

The Governor prohibited further assembly and called for the arrest of the Patriote leaders.

At this point, the full Rebellion broke out – with the British army fighting against the Patriotes.

And they lost.

Some of the Patriotes escaped to the U.S. and they tried to organize a second uprising, but it did not work.

Many were arrested, many fled and twelve were condemned to death.

After the Rebellions, the British government sent over a new Governor, Lord Durham, to investigate the political problems in Canada.

Durham was a liberal who valued free-enterprise and individual freedoms.

Consequently, he supported commercial development and the imposition of British culture – basically he was a Tory.

In his report, Durham recommended the assimilation of the French Canadians and the establishment of a responsible government.

The Act of Union was passed in 1840, uniting the two halves of Canada under one Assembly in an attempt to get the French in line.

But the system remained the same, non-democratic and controlled from London.

Through the Act of Union, they were trying to make the French Canadian representatives a minority in the government.

However, it did not really work: instead of forming parties based on their ethnicity – the representatives made parties based on political similarities!

Anglophones were getting together with Francophones and making even bigger political parties…

This is how the Reform Party came into being, and it opposed the Tory Party (both the Merchants and the Loyalists).

Although the Tories were a minority in the Assembly, they were a majority in both councils – because they were in with the Governor!

In the 1840’s the Liberals took power in Great Britain and the mother country started to consider more autonomy for its Canadian colony.

After many years of dispute in the Assembly, Governor Elgin (1847-1854) granted the Reform Party the right to name the members of the Executive Council.

And he transferred a considerable amount of power from the Governor General to the leader of the party with a majority in the Assembly.

From then on the Governor General would no longer be associated with a political party – nor would he intervene with the Executive Council.

But he did retain his powers over defence and foreign relations.

The Reformers began passing laws they had long awaited:

The official recognition of the French language Compensation for the innocent victims of the

Rebellions

Like he promised, the Governor did not oppose these laws and the Conservative party was so furious – they set fire to the Montreal Parliament buildings and ransacked the residences of many Reformers.

For years afterwards, the Assembly was a mess.

Because of this political impasse, the British North America Act was passed in 1867.

As a result the political regime was modified, and new interest groups appeared to pressure the government for what they wanted.

“When Lord Elgin — he no longer deserves the name of Excellency — made his appearance on the street to retire from the Council Chamber, he was received by the crowd with hisses, hootings, and groans. He was pelted with rotten eggs; he and his aide-de-camps were splashed with the savory liquor; and the whole carriage covered with the nasty contents of the eggs and with mud. When the eggs were exhausted stones were made use of to salute the departing carriage, and he was driven off at a rapid gallop amidst the hootings and curses of his countrymen.

The End has begun…

…Anglo-Saxons! you must live for the future. Your blood and race will now be supreme, if true to yourselves. You will be English "at the expense of not being British." To whom and what, is your allegiance now? Answer each man for himself.

The puppet in the pageant must be recalled, or driven away by the universal contempt of the people.

In the language of William the Fourth, "Canada is lost, and given away."

A Mass Meeting will be held on the Place d'Armes this evening at 8 o'clock. Anglo-Saxons to the struggle, now is your time.”

James Moir Ferres— Montreal Gazette, "Extra" of April 25, 1849

Was James Moir Ferres English or French? Explain your answer.

According to what you read – was Ferres a Tory or a Reformer? Use quotes to support your findings.

What do you think he meant when he wrote: “To whom and what is your allegiance now?”

What kind of power does Ferres represent?